Two stage shaker

ABSTRACT

The invention provides an improved method and apparatus for separating fruits, such as tomatoes, from vines. The invention uses feeder bars to provide tomatoes to a shaker brush a first time. The vines are allowed to fall out of the shaker brush to a shaker conveyor. The shaker conveyor conveys the vines into the shaker brush a second time, and then to a vine reel, thus providing an improved separation of tomatoes from the vine.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.08/692,210, filed 05 Aug. 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,301; which inturn is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/444,639, filed 19May 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,459.

This invention generally relates to apparatus for harvestingabove-ground vegetable crops, such as tomatoes. More particularly, thepresent invention concerns harvesters of the type which include ashaking mechanism for removing fruit from the vine and means forcollecting said fruit.

Direct-loading harvesters have been known in the art for many years andhave enjoyed wide-spread use in the harvesting of tomatoes. Typically,such harvesters are arranged to harvest tomato plants grown in rows, toelevate the harvested plants to a shaker brush for separating tomatoesfrom their vines, to carry the tomatoes from the shaker brush to sorterconveyors where undesired tomatoes and trash are removed, and finally toelevate the remaining tomatoes from the harvester to an attendant truckor trailer for delivery to processing plants.

The invention provides an improved method and apparatus for separatingtomatoes or other vegetable crops from vines and leaves. The inventionprovides a conveyor, which provides the improved feeding of vines to theshaker assembly and the improved separation of tomatoes or othervegetable crops from the vines. The invention also provides a tinedmeans to separate vines to allow tomatoes caught between the vines to bereleased.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tomato harvester using a preferredembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a tomato harvester using apreferred embodiment of the invention, illustrating the paths taken bythe tomatoes, vines and debris after they are harvested.

FIG. 3 is a central section of part of the harvester illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along lines 4--4 in FIG. 3.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention is used in a tomatoharvesting machine H, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The tomato harvestingmachine H is adapted to harvest tomatoes T from vines V grown in a rowon an elongate planting ridge PR. The harvesting machine H is designedto proceed along the planting ridge PR, sever the tomato vines V atground level, elevate the vines for further processing, separate thetomatoes from the vines, and transfer the tomatoes to an awaiting truckTR.

The tomato harvesting machine H includes a pickup mechanism PUcomprising a pickup conveyor 17 mounted in a header frame 18, saidheader frame being pivotally attached to the main frame of the harvesterH. The front end of the header frame 18 is supported by a pair of wheels20 mounted on a U-shaped support frame 21 which is pivotally attached tothe front end of said header frame. A pair of lever arms 23 extendupward from the U-shaped support frame 21 and are adapted to raise andlower said support frame with respect to the front end of the header. Apair of hydraulic piston and cylinder assemblies 24 are attached to thedistal ends of the lever arms 23 at the piston rod and to the headerframe 18 at the cylinder end. Actuation of the cylinder assemblies 24allows the distance that the front end of the pickup mechanism PUtravels below the ground to be adjusted.

A cutting means is provided at the front end of the pickup mechanism PUto sever the tomato vines at or near the ground level. The cutting meansmay be of various types, and a rotating cutting bar 26 is illustrated inFIG. 1. The cutting bar 26 is rotatably attached at both ends to theheader frame 18 and is rotated by a hydraulic motor (not shown). As theharvester H is driven forward, the cutting bar 26 encounters theindividual vines V and severs them near the ground. After severing, thevines V fall onto the pickup conveyor 17 and are elevated for furtherprocessing on the main frame of the harvester, as will be describedhereinafter.

Referring to FIG. 2, the overall operation of the tomato harvester Hwill now be described in general terms. A longitudinal transfer conveyor28 is adapted to receive the tomatoes T and vines V from the pickupconveyor 17. There is a small gap between the discharge end of thepickup conveyor 17 and the receiving end of the transfer conveyor 28which allows loose tomatoes, dirt clods and other debris to drop fromthe vines in transit. These loose tomatoes and debris fall onto one oftwo dirt cross conveyors 29, 30 which transfer them to the right sideand the left side respectively, of the harvester H (FIG. 2). It shouldbe noted that the further processing undergone on both sides of theharvester H is identical and that such processing will be described onlyfor the left side of the machine which is fed by the left dirt crossconveyor 30.

The tomatoes, dirt and other debris are discharged from the left dirtcross conveyor 30 through a dirt sorter electronic system 32, where thered tomatoes are retrieved back onto a longitudinal sorter conveyor 27.The dirt, debris, and green tomatoes fall off the conveyor through thedirt sorter electronic system 32 to a trash chute and then to theground. Sorters, who stand on platform P, manually remove undesirabletomatoes and dirt that may have reached sorter conveyor 27.

The transfer conveyor 28 discharges vines V with attached tomatoes T toa set of feeder bars 31 composed of a plurality of stationary parallelbars which on a first end are wrapped around a moving roller 33 and on asecond end are straight and angled downward as shown. The feeder bars 31direct the vines under a shaker brush assembly 15, which comprises ashaker brush 16 with shaker brush 16 tines 19, and a means for vibratingthe shaker brush 16, such as an eccentric weight assembly 14. Whenvibrating the shaker brush 16 with an eccentric weight assembly 14,bearing friction in the drive mechanism, also results in the rotation ofthe shaker brush 16. In the specification and claims a shaker brush isdefined as a tined brush that provides rotational oscillation. Gravityand bearing friction from the eccentric weight assembly 14 draw thevines from the feeder bars 31 to a shaker conveyor 37 which moves thevines V in a rearward direction under the shaker brush 16. The shakerbrush 16 is positioned to engage the vines supported on the shakerconveyor 37. FIG. 3 illustrates a cut away side view of the feeder bars31, the shaker brush 16, the shaker conveyor 37 and the moving roller33.

Some of the tomatoes T which have been disengaged by the shaker brush 16fall through the openings in the shaker conveyor 37 onto either of twofruit cross conveyors 34. Other tomatoes T which have been disengaged bythe shaker brush 16 are caught between vines V, and at first are notable to reach the openings in the shaker conveyor 37.

The shaker conveyor 37 causes the vines V with loosened tomatoes T topass below a vine reel 39. The vine reel 39 separates the vines andallows tomatoes T to fall through the vines V and through the shakerconveyor 37 to a fruit conveyor 35, located beneath the shaker conveyor37. The vine reel 39 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,269,incorporated by reference. The remaining vines V are conveyed by theshaker conveyor 37 to the rear of the harvester H, where they areallowed to fall to the ground. FIG. 4 illustrates the section takenalong lines 4--4 of FIG. 3, illustrating the vine real 39 and the shakerconveyor 37.

The vine reel 39 is mounted on a shaft 51, upon which the vine reel 39rotates. The shaft 51 is mounted on a frame member 53. A reel drive 52,which surrounds a significant length of the shaft 51, is attached to theshaft 51 and driven by the shaft 51. The shaft 51 is driven by a shaftpulley 57, which is driven by a drive belt 59, which is driven by adrive pulley, which is driven by a motor. Spiders 61 are connected tothe reel drive 52 and is rotated by the reel drive 52. The shaft 51 andthe reel drive 52 pass through the centers of the spiders 61. At the endof each arm 67 of the spiders 61 are bats 69, which extend from an arm67 of one spider 61 to the arm 67 of another spider 61. The bats 69 arejournaled to rotate with respect to the arms 67. At the ends of each bat69 are flanges 71 with the first end of a flange 71 connected to a bat69. The second end of each flange 71 is connected to a ring 73 by a pin74. The ring 73 is mounted on three rollers 75. The rollers 75 aremounted on a reel cam 77. The center 81 of the three rollers 75 isoffset from the center 65 of the shaft 51 so that the center 65 of theshaft 51 passes through the triangular area 79 a set distance from thecenter 81 of the three rollers 75. A plurality of tines 91 extenddownward from the bats.

In operation, the shaker conveyor 37 passes vines V and loosenedtomatoes T, which are caught among the vines V, under the vine reel 39.The shaker conveyor 37 rotates in a clockwise direction as indicated inFIG. 3, to carry the vines from under the shaker brush 16. The vine reel39 is rotated in a counter clockwise direction as indicated so that nearthe shaker conveyor 37 the tines 91 move in the same direction as theshaker conveyor 37. As viewed in FIG. 3, the tines 91 on the left sideof the vine reel 39 enter the vines in a substantially verticallydownward direction with a substantially zero velocity along thedirection of movement of the shaker conveyor 37. The tines 91 on thebottom of the vine reel 39 pass over the shaker conveyor 37 with avelocity along the direction of movement of the shaker conveyor 37,which is substantially twice the velocity of the shaker conveyor, andwith a vertical velocity of substantially zero. As viewed in FIG. 3, thetines 91 on the right side of the vine reel 39 leave the vines in asubstantially vertically upward direction with a substantially zerovelocity along the direction of movement of the shaker conveyor 37.Therefore, as the tines 91 move from left to right under the vine reel39, as viewed in FIG. 3, the tines 91 go from a substantially zerovelocity along the direction of the shaker conveyor 37, to twice thevelocity of the shaker conveyor 37 along the direction of the shakerconveyor 37, to a substantially zero velocity along the direction of theshaker conveyor 37. The change in velocity of the tines 91 with respectto the movement of the shaker conveyor 37, causes the vines V whichengage the tines 91 to be agitated and separated allowing loosenedtomatoes T, which are caught between the vines V, to escape from betweenthe vines V and pass through the shaker conveyor 37 to the fruitconveyor 35. By keeping the tines 91 substantially vertical, the tines91 can be easily inserted into and removed from the vines V, and areuseful in separating the vines V.

The fruit conveyor 35 carries the tomatoes forward on the harvester Hand discharges them onto either of the two fruit cross conveyors 34,with only the left fruit cross conveyor 34 being shown in FIG. 2.

The fruit which has fallen onto fruit cross conveyor 34 is dischargedonto the sorter conveyor 27 where it joins the fruit directed there bythe left dirt cross conveyor 30. The fruit which is fallen onto theother cross conveyor is discharged to the other side of the machinewhere it joins the second processing line. The tomatoes discharged fromthe sorter conveyor 27, having been manually and mechanically sorted toremove unsuitable tomatoes and debris, are directed to an automaticcolor sorter 40 where further undesirable tomatoes may be ejected fromthe harvester H. A suction fan and suction fan housing 38 are providedto further remove debris before the debris reaches the color sorter 40.

The inspected tomatoes are then discharged onto the cross feed conveyor41 where they join the inspected tomatoes from the other side of theharvester H, all tomatoes then being directed to the right hand side ofthe harvester H. From the cross feed conveyor 41, the tomatoes aredirected to the discharge conveyor 42 where the tomatoes are elevatedand discharged into a receiving truck TR (FIG. 1) which travelsalongside the harvester H.

As described above, the feeder bars 31 are composed of a plurality ofrigid parallel stationary bars which on a first end are wrapped around amoving roller 33 and on a second end are straight and angled downward asshown. The feeder bars 31 are angled between 30° and 60° from thehorizontal plane.

The shaker conveyor 37 comprises a first endless belt 45 and a secondendless belt 47 with a plurality of metal rods 49 extending in parallelthere between. The plurality of rods 49, extending from the firstendless belt 45 to the second endless belt 47, are spaced apart to allowtomatoes to pass between the rods 49 to the fruit conveyor 35 below theshaker conveyor 37. In the preferred embodiment, the plurality of rods49 are spaced a distance "d1" of 4 inches apart. Preferably, the rods 49are spaced in the range of 3 inches to 6 inches apart. The fruitconveyor 35 also comprises first and second endless belts 83 with aplurality of metal rods 84 extending in parallel there between. In thepreferred embodiment, the spacing between the metal rods 84 of the fruitconveyor 35 is a distance "d2" of 1 inch apart. Preferably, the rods 84are spaced in the range of 0.5 inches to 2 inches apart. The shakerconveyor 37 extends almost to the dirt cross conveyors 29, 30, under theroller 33, under the feeder bars 31, under the shaker brush 16, andunder the vine reel 39. The shaker conveyor 37 surrounds the fruitconveyor 35 and the fruit cross conveyors 34, so that part of the shakerconveyor 37 is above the fruit conveyor 35 and the fruit cross conveyors34 and part of the shaker conveyor 37 extends under the fruit conveyor35 and the fruit cross conveyor 34.

Because the metal rods 49 extend across the shaker conveyor 37 theshaker brush 16 is positioned sufficiently above the shaker conveyor 37so that the tines 19 of the shaker brush 16 do not reach or pass throughthe shaker conveyor 37. This allows the vines to fall out of from theshaker brush 16 before they are conveyed back into the shaker brush 16.

In operation, the transfer conveyor 28 discharges vines V with attachedtomatoes T to a set of feeder bars 31. The feeder bars 31 direct thevines under a shaker brush 16. Gravity and bearing friction pull thevines from the feeder bars 31 to a shaker conveyor 37 which moves thevines V in a rearward direction under the shaker brush 16. Falling fromthe feeder bars 31 to the shaker conveyor 37 allows the vines V to fallout of the shaker head assembly, allowing the volume of the vine mass toexpand. The expansion of the vine mass, provides a separation of thevines, allowing loosened tomatoes to drop from the vine mass, throughthe shaker conveyor 37 to the fruit cross conveyor. The shaker conveyor37 then moves the vines V back into the shaker brush 16.

Although extending the conveyor so that vines may drop out of the shakerbrush 16 and moving the vines through the shaker brush 16 by use of theshaker conveyor 37 improves the release of the tomatoes from the vines,some loosened tomatoes are still caught in the vine mass. For thisreason, the shaker conveyor 37 causes the vines V with loosened tomatoesT to pass below a vine reel 39. The vine reel 39 separates the vines andallows tomatoes T to fall through the vines V and through the shakerconveyor 37 to a fruit conveyor 35.

The invention is an improvement over the apparatus described in U.S.Pat. No. 4,335,570 incorporated by reference, in that this inventionprovides a more durable conveyor in the shaker conveyor 37. Theapparatus described in the patent causes the tines of the shaker brushto pass through the conveyor, thus requiring the less durable conveyor.This more durable conveyor is able to use the backside of the shakerbrush 16 and the vine reel 39 which provides an improved separation thusproviding a two stage shaker brush devise. In addition, the apparatusdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,570 lacks feeder bars 31 which feed thevines V into the shaker brush 16 allowing for an initial shaking andthen allow the vines V to drop out from the shaker brush 16, thusallowing the vines to expand allowing a first release of tomatoes fromthe vines V, before entering the backside of the shaker brush 16, thesecond stage.

The invention is an improvement over the apparatus described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,197,269 incorporated by reference, in that this inventionextends the shaker conveyor 37 under the shaker brush assembly 15, sothat the vines are driven by the shaker conveyor 37 and not the shakerbrush assembly 15. This allows the feeder bars 31 to feed the vines Vinto the shaker brush 16 allowing for an initial shaking and then allowthe vines V to drop out from the shaker brush 16, thus allowing thevines to expand allowing a first release of tomatoes from the vines V.In addition, the extension of the shaker conveyor 37 allows the shakerconveyor 37 to extend around the fruit cross conveyors 34 and the fruitconveyor 35, instead of doubling back over the fruit conveyor 35, wherevine pieces can get caught, roll, and cause plugging.

In addition, allowing the rotation of the shaker brush 15 to be drivenby material throughput and the shaker conveyor 37, the shaker brush 15is better able to handle variations in mass throughput without pluggingas seen with direct control of the rotation of the brush speed by apositive motor control.

While preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown anddescribed herein, it will be appreciated that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit ofthe invention as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A harvester for harvesting and separating fruitsfrom vines, comprising:a main frame; a shaker brush having a pluralityof tines, and mounted on the main frame for rotation about an axis;means for feeding fruits and vines to a feed point adjacent to theshaker brush, wherein said means for feeding is mounted to the mainframe adjacent to the shaker brush; a plurality of feeder rods mountedto the main frame, extending from locations below the feed point tolocations within the shaker brush; and a shaker conveyor for conveyingfruits and vines away from the feeder rods and for supporting the fruitsand vines in a position so that the tines on the shaker brush penetratethe vines and induce a shaking action in the vines.
 2. A harvester, asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the shaker conveyor is mounted outside ofthe shaker brush, so that the plurality of tines of the shaker brush donot reach the shaker conveyor.
 3. The harvester, as recited in claim 1,wherein the shaker conveyor, comprises:a first endless belt extendingunder the shaker brush; a second endless belt extending under the shakerbrush; and a plurality of rods extending from the first endless belt tothe second endless belt, wherein the plurality of tines of the shakerbrush do not reach the first endless belt, the second endless belt andthe plurality of rods.
 4. The harvester, as recited in claim 3, furthercomprising a fruit conveyor, surrounded by the shaker conveyor.
 5. Theharvester, as recited in claim 3, wherein the means for feeding fruitsand vines to feed point, comprises a transfer conveyor.
 6. Theharvester, as recited in claim 3, wherein the plurality of rods of theshaker conveyor are spaced apart from each other by a distance in therange from 3 to 6 inches.
 7. The harvester, as recited in claim 6,wherein the means for feeding fruits and vines to feed point, comprisesa transfer conveyor.
 8. The harvester, as recited in claim 3, whereinthe plurality of rods of the shaker conveyor are spaced apart a distanceof 4 inches.
 9. The harvester, as recited in claim 3, wherein the meansfor feeding fruits and vines to feed point, comprises a transferconveyor.
 10. A harvester for harvesting and separating fruits fromvines, comprising:a main frame; a shaker brush having a plurality oftines, and mounted on the main frame for rotation about an axis; meansfor feeding fruits and vines to a feed point adjacent to the shakerbrush, wherein said means for feeding is mounted to the main frameadjacent to the shaker brush; a plurality of feeder rods mounted to themain frame, which pass from locations below the feed point to locationsbelow the axis of the shaker brush and for supporting the fruits andvines in a position so that the tines on the shaker brush penetrate thevines and induce a shaking action in the vines; and a shaker conveyorfor conveying fruits and vines away from the feeder rods and forsupporting the fruits and vines in a position so that the tines on theshaker brush penetrate the vines and induce a shaking action in thevines.
 11. A harvester, as claimed in claim 10, wherein the shakerconveyor is mounted outside of the shaker brush, so that the pluralityof tines of the shaker brush do not reach the shaker conveyor.
 12. Theharvester, as recited in claim 10, wherein the shaker conveyor,comprises:a first endless belt extending under the shaker brush; asecond endless belt extending under the shaker brush; and a plurality ofrods extending from the first endless belt to the second endless belt,wherein the plurality of tines of the shaker brush do not reach thefirst endless belt, the second endless belt and the plurality of rods.13. The harvester, as recited in claim 12, further comprising a fruitconveyor, surrounded by the shaker conveyor.
 14. The harvester, asrecited in claim 12, wherein the means for feeding fruits and vines tofeed point, comprises a transfer conveyor.
 15. The harvester, as recitedin claim 12, wherein the plurality of rods of the shaker conveyor arespaced apart from each other by a distance in the range from 3 to 6inches.
 16. The harvester, as recited in claim 12, wherein the means forfeeding fruits and vines to feed point, comprises a transfer conveyor.17. The harvester, as recited in claim 12, wherein the plurality of rodsof the shaker conveyor are spaced apart a distance of 4 inches.
 18. Theharvester, as recited in claim 12, wherein the means for feeding fruitsand vines to feed point, comprises a transfer conveyor.
 19. A harvesterfor harvesting and separating fruits from vines, comprising:a mainframe; a shaker brush having a plurality of tines, and mounted on themain frame for rotation about an axis; means for feeding fruits andvines to a feed point adjacent to the shaker brush, wherein said meansfor feeding is mounted to the main frame adjacent to the shaker brush; afirst means for supporting the fruits and vines in a position so thatthe tines on the shaker brush penetrate the vines and induce a shakingaction in the vines, wherein the first means is mounted to the mainframe adjacent to the shaker brush; and a second means for supportingthe fruits and vines in a position so that the tines on the shaker brushpenetrate the vines and induce a shaking action in the vines and forconveying fruits and vines away from the first means, wherein the secondmeans comprises a shaker conveyor mounted to the main frame, and whereinthe first means for supporting the fruits and vines passes fromlocations below the feed point towards the second means for supportingthe fruits and vines.
 20. A harvester, as claimed in claim 19, whereinthe shaker conveyor, comprises:a first endless belt extending under theshaker brush; and a second endless belt extending under the shakerbrush.
 21. The harvester, as recited in claim 19, wherein the shakerconveyor, further comprises, a plurality of rods extending from thefirst endless belt to the second endless belt, wherein the plurality oftines of the shaker brush do not reach the first endless belt, thesecond endless belt and the plurality of rods.